New band with familiar names: The Arcs

Yours, Dreamily kicked off the shelves September 4, 2015. The Black Keys’ vocalist, Dan Auerbach; The Shins’ drummer, Richard Swift joined forces with multi-instrumentalist, Leon Michels expecting a few side-project-songs. The creation quickly turned into a band, now named the Arcs.

There are some pressing questions sure to bother anyone who is a fan of the Black Keys or the Shins. The Rolling Stone reports that Auerbach is a “side-project fiend” and the Arcs’ first album was born out of countless meetings and recorded within the walls of four different studios throughout the United States. The Arcs most likely will not interfere with the success of the Black Keys, but it may make Swift more relevant considering the Shins drifted out of popularity and into hipster culture in 2007 after their glorious album, Wincing the Night Away.

The fate of the Black Keys, the Shins and the Arcs is currently unknown considering Auerbach’s record with making music with every band he can attract to his personal studio, but as of now, everyone is still together. The next move of the Keys and others revolves around the success of the Arcs compared to the other bands. But to top the Keys is to top selling out Madison Square Garden in under an hour— which the Black Keys have already done.

Please do not look down on the Arcs for not being the Black Keys. Some sources say the Arcs are even better than El Camino (which one needs to hear to believe). Yours, Dreamily is a sure fire with any fan of the Black Keys, which could be why the Arcs got so popular so quick. The track “Cold Companion” takes the rhythmic excellence of Auerbach’s guitar and voice then adds a new level of classic psychedelic nature comparable to the Arctic Monkeys and the funky side of the Zombies. Another track, “Stay In My Corner”, takes on a completely new rhythm that is reminiscent of the 1960’s. Listen to this album with a few baby-boomers and they will think they missed the Arcs at Woodstock.

Aside from sounding straight out of the 60’s, the Arcs’ Yours, Dreamily album has a solid rating on iTunes of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Many citizens of the music world have compared this new band to the Grateful Dead, the Beatles, and of course, the Black Keys. Not to mention even the art of the album is completely nostalgic of listening to my mother’s classic rock records from bands like The Who and Led Zeppelin. If you ever hear a peer say they hate the music of this generation, simply throw Yours, Dreamily at them. They might get fooled and go away.

The Arcs performed on September 26 in New York City to a sold out show at the Bowery Ballroom. Their following shows take place in Europe, so if you are currently not in the U.S., you are in luck to see one of the most anticipated bands of 2015.

About the Writer…

Natalie Przybyla is a sophomore Women’s Studies major and loves music, art, feminism, and meeting new people. She likes to think of herself like Kanye West thinks about himself.